Stocks fall at midday as budget-deal hopes fade

Stocks are down at midday with hopes dimming that lawmakers will reach a deal to prevent the U.S. from going over the “fiscal cliff.”

Just before noon the Dow Jones industrial average was down 43 points to 13,152. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index has given up four points to 1,426. The Nasdaq composite was trading 10 points lower at 3,011.

Sen. Joe Lieberman said that it is now “more likely we’ll go over the cliff than not,” following the failure of a plan by House Speaker John Boehner’s to allow tax rates to rise on wealthier Americans.

Failure to agree on a plan to cut the budget deficit by Jan. 1 would lead to simultaneous government spending cuts and tax hikes that could push the economy back into recession.